Don't get me wrong, spryllino is nowhere near as vitriolic as Lucky, and I commend him for that. But he
reiterates the same thinking that's so far been the crux of opposition to the merger: "We recognize that you
can adapt, but we're convinced you
won't, and
don't want to give you the chance." I think it's pretty clear by now that at the pure, bare-bones, game-play level, NES and IOT are interchangeable, and what we're really arguing is a jingoist
kultur kampf. And from the exchanges in this thread (not to mention my own dirty socialist outlook on life), this is why I think we
need a merger: to foster a mutual understanding and long-term dialogue by which we may improve both communities. As the saying goes, you're much less likely to discriminate against blacks/gays/Jews/etc. when you know them personally and interact on a regular basis. Cross-pollination is OK, but if we
really want to build bridges then we need to aim for immersion.
My question is: If the majority of NESers claim they won't play IOT but are happy to accept IOTers into NES, then how much further of a stretch is it
really to host the games side-by-side? After all, if the cultures are supposedly so clearly identifiable, then surely we can let the players pick the one more suited to their play style?